Vert. top leakage?!
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9
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Vert. top leakage?!
With some of the recent afternoon downpours, our Vette has been leaking some water through the windshield/top connection.
I didn't buy the car brand new and we've only had it about a year but since then, I have always treated the rubber, almost every weekend when washing the car.
Can anyone recommend a fix/treatment meant for convertable tops and has anyone had this issue as well?
I had a C4 a few years back with the glass top and it leaked like a flood in there every time it rained. I drove around with a towel in the back.
I didn't buy the car brand new and we've only had it about a year but since then, I have always treated the rubber, almost every weekend when washing the car.
Can anyone recommend a fix/treatment meant for convertable tops and has anyone had this issue as well?
I had a C4 a few years back with the glass top and it leaked like a flood in there every time it rained. I drove around with a towel in the back.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,062
Likes: 103
From: Southeast, Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '09 thru '26
are you saying you are getting water in through the top/header seal?? or are you getting water in from the front top edges of the side windows??
when you close the top (with the locking handles) is it a bit hard to close them or do they close pretty smoothly without much pressure?? does the top "draw" downward when you close those lock handles or does it remain pretty much stable? if it draws down and you still take in water, perhaps the lock downs need some adjustment (i'd have to take a look at mine to see how much if any is available), or the seal may just be compressed and not making a real good seal (as in worn out finally).
if it is the window leaking, there is a tilt adjustment that can be made to angle the window more inward against the weather striping. unfortunately, the weatherstrips do wear and since the newest your car could be is 04, that makes the weather strip at least 6 years old. assuming your car is a 1999 (from your screen name), it is possible they are just worn out particularly if during it's lifetime it has spent time sitting out in the sun (like at work if it's a dd). either way the seals are over 10 years old and probably need to be replaced.
when you close the top (with the locking handles) is it a bit hard to close them or do they close pretty smoothly without much pressure?? does the top "draw" downward when you close those lock handles or does it remain pretty much stable? if it draws down and you still take in water, perhaps the lock downs need some adjustment (i'd have to take a look at mine to see how much if any is available), or the seal may just be compressed and not making a real good seal (as in worn out finally).
if it is the window leaking, there is a tilt adjustment that can be made to angle the window more inward against the weather striping. unfortunately, the weatherstrips do wear and since the newest your car could be is 04, that makes the weather strip at least 6 years old. assuming your car is a 1999 (from your screen name), it is possible they are just worn out particularly if during it's lifetime it has spent time sitting out in the sun (like at work if it's a dd). either way the seals are over 10 years old and probably need to be replaced.
Last edited by srs244; Jun 22, 2010 at 05:24 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,191
Likes: 53
From: Tucson Arizona
Sounds like the weatherstrip may be bad. I have a 2001 Vert and just drove back from Vegas to Tucson about 10 days ago. On the trip back we had fairly hard rain for about 100 miles and never leaked a drop so it's not normal for it to leak there.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 896
Likes: 1
From: Ewing NJ
I agree. The header on my 2000 never leaks. When the windows begin to leak, I spray pure silicone on the weatherstripping and rub it in with a paper napkin or 4x4 surgical sponge. The silicone repels the water and also makes the rubber supple again.
